Contrary to fathers' rights propaganda, father perpetrators (along with stepdads and caretaker boyfrends) dominate the most vicious crimes against children: sexual assault, abusive head trauma, murder-suicides, crimes involving gun violence, and other similar forms of physically violent/fatal child abuse. And as more dads are providing child care (either because mom is working and can't find other care, or because dads are increasingly getting unsupervised visitation/custody through the family courts), more dads are are being found guilty of basic child abuse and neglect as well.

10/25/15 -Because of severe time constraints, we are no longer able to do regular updates at Dastardly Dads. We will occasionally post articles on general studies on child abuse/domestic violence, news pieces involving abusive fathers in custody/visitation situations. We wil also be updating the Killer Dads and Custody lists, while looking for a better, more accessible platform for the data.

7/11/16 - We started this blog on June 24, 2009--just over seven years. And like all good things, it's time to bring this project to a close. It has served its purpose. We have close to 10,500 postings regarding fathers and child abuse, with hundred of those cases being enabled by the family courts, social services, and others in authority. The documentation is clear. It is now time to stop documenting and put that energy into changing the situation that puts thousands of mothers and children at risk every day.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Another violent father who never should have received custody. Like a lot of guys, he seems to have increasingly coupled with the women who deserved him. If this had been a custodial mother, she would be accused of failure to protect and end up doing hard time. But since it's a dad, well, he'll probably just play the Clueless Dad card and pay no penalty whatsoever. By the way, this is a familiar theme with abusive custodial fathers. Since their motivations are all about punishment/control of the mother, and not about what's best fot the child or any desire to actively parent, they frequently dump the child on the new (resentful) wife or girlfriend. Dad is identified as DAVE WHYTE.

Ashley Young knew her son was in danger of being hurt. She was wrong, it seems, about who would do the hurting.

Young thought little Kenai Whyte’s father, Dave Whyte, was a danger to him — and she had good reason to think so. But prosecutors say it was Whyte’s wife, Marie Buie, who beat the child horribly on Jan. 31. The 3-year-old died two days later.

The court documents and police reports are gut-wrenching reading. From the day he was born, the toddler who loved firetrucks and Lightning McQueen was surrounded by threats and fear, the adults in his life battling and abusing each other, sometimes over him.

“I feel as if my child is in danger with his father,” Young wrote in a 2013 filing. “If he can beat on me and abuse me, I feel he can do the same to my son.”

Kenai’s father left a trail of police reports and restraining orders testifying to his abusiveness. Young said Whyte’s violence drove her to a shelter for domestic abuse victims. And later, she took out restraining orders against Whyte for pushing her against a wall and for visiting Kenai’s day care center to try to get her new address.
Marie Buie surrendered to police for allegedly causing harm to Kenai Whyte, who died Feb. 2.

And she wasn’t the only one afraid of him. Police called to Whyte’s home in August of 2013 reported that he had pulled Buie’s hair and cut her hand. A year later, he was charged with assault and battery after he grabbed Buie by the throat. His mother, too, took out a restraining order against Whyte around the same time, saying her son had threatened to kill her.

Buie was trouble, too, according to police reports. She was twice arrested for assault and battery: once for stabbing a neighbor and once for hitting Whyte with a bottle, biting him, and pushing him down some stairs because, she told police, she was frustrated that he had left her to care for Kenai alone.

As ever in these impossible cases, it fell to the state to find a path for Kenai through the morass. The Department of Children and Families had been watching him since he was a baby, and checkups showed he was doing fine. A spokeswoman would not say whether DCF ran criminal background checks on the parents’ partners, citing privacy concerns. New rules announced Monday will make those checks mandatory.

If the probate judges mediating custody disputes between Young and Whyte knew about the father’s propensity for violence, they were apparently unperturbed by it. Whyte was granted full legal custody and half-physical custody of Kenai. Young, representing herself before the court (Whyte had an attorney), tried to change that late last year, but she missed a court date after her baby was born prematurely. So Whyte prevailed.

It is possible that, presented with this cavalcade of dysfunction, the court came to the measured (but mistaken) conclusion that Kenai was safe in his father’s home.
It is possible, too, that what happened here is what happens too often when family court judges are presented with allegations of domestic abuse: The victim of the abuse is disbelieved and penalized. Their fragile state in the courtroom can make them seem disruptive or irrational. Worse, abusers can convince judges that the victims are using abuse claims to gain greater custody rights.

Courts can focus too hard on the breach between the parents, losing track of who is hitting whom — and whether the violence also endangers the child.

“Judges seem to care more about parental alienation,” said David Adams, head of Emerge, a counseling program for abusers. “So much so, that some victims’ attorneys aren’t even raising domestic violence in custody disputes.”

Whatever the reason, Young lost her bid to have her son spend less time in his father’s home. So there Kenai was, alone with Buie on the January night prosecutors say she brutally beat him.

You would like to think his parents fought this hard over their child because they both treasured him and wanted to protect him. But then you have to confront the realization that even a little boy as loved as Kenai Whyte seems to have been left in harm’s way to die.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

The mental illness plea is nothing but a red herring. This is a classic coercive control murder. Daddy with an extensive history of domestic violence (against at least two women that we are told of) "losing control" so he murders two children to "punish" the mother. And yet, a father with this history was still granted custody/visitation rights with two young girls. That's what's insane.Children are abused by definition when they are forced to live in a home where the mother, their caretaker, is beaten up and verbally abused on a regular basis.

That the father had reportedly never physically abused the children up to this point is irrelevant. That is not uncommon. But kids are never safe with a violent narcissist who sees other humans--especially women and children--as mere objects he can use and dispose of as he sees fit. Clearly, the kids were simply collateral damage in his efforts to further abuse/control their mother. Dad is identified as JOHN BATTAGLIA. See the Killer Dads and Custody List for Texas. People sometimes ask why the data is not easily broken down by year. Here's an example. These murders took place in 2001, before this blog/project was started. A news account about the crime didn't come into any of my news feeds until 15 years had passed.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3514282/Dallas-man-set-executed-death-daughters-9-6.html'I'm too delusional to die': Accountant who killed his two daughters, nine and six, while his ex-wife listened on the phone makes last-ditch plea to avoid execution TODAY
John David Battaglia, 60, killed daughters Faith and Liberty in 2001
He is appealing for more time to prove he is mentally incompetent
The murders came after his ex-wife reported he was harassing her
Was arrested at a tattoo parlor, getting two roses to remember his girls
Battaglia is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday in Huntsville

Pearle yelled into the phone for the girls to run and heard gunshots, followed by Battaglia telling her: 'Merry f****** Christmas'.

Evidence showed Faith had been shot three times, and Liberty five. A semiautomatic pistol found near the kitchen door was among more than a dozen firearms recovered from Battaglia's apartment.

Battaglia went to a bar with a girlfriend following the shootings, and then to a tattoo parlor. He was inked with two large roses on his left arm, meant to represent his daughters.

When he walked outside, it took four officers to subdue and arrest him at 2am. A fully loaded revolver was found in his truck.

It was later discovered that Battaglia had recorded one last message to his daughters.

'Goodnight my little babies,' he said. 'I hope you're resting in a different place. I love you, and I wish that you had nothing to do with your mother.'

'She was evil and vicious and stupid. I love you dearly.'

Battaglia's trial attorneys called no witnesses during the guilt-innocence portion of his capital murder trial in 2002, and a Dallas County jury deliberated only 19 minutes before convicting him.

During the punishment phase, jurors heard defense testimony that Battaglia's bipolar disorder and other mental illness issues should convince them that a life prison sentence would be appropriate. They did not agree.

'To think a father could just gun down his little girls, it was just unbelievable,' Howard Blackmon, the lead prosecutor in the case, recalled last week.

'It was such a compelling case for the death penalty.'

The Texas Attorney General's Office argued there is no evidence in his prison medical file that suggests Battaglia is 'mentally ill, delusional, divorced from reality, on psychiatric medication, or otherwise does not comprehend his imminent execution'.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

This has fathers rights crap all over it. For years, the federal government has funded FR groups meant to "reunite" dangerous criminals, addicts, and mentally ill fathers with their children and force those kids into the father's custody. There is funding to do this. No equivalent funding for mothers. So we yank a medically fragile 2-year-old girl out of foster care for what? To give her to a formerly jailed, addicted father living in an all-male transitional housing situation devoted to getting these creeps access to little kids. No one with any background (or interest) in taking care of disabled children. Just getting ownership. Dead in two months. Who didn't see that coming. Mother is (allegedly) "mentally impaired" but there are no details--the reporter doesn't bother to follow-up on the hearsay testimony. Maybe she wasn't mother of the year material, but you got to wonder whether she would have managed to kill off a todder within two months WITH NO CONSEQUENCES. He even keeps his name out of the media. Slick move!

SAN JOSE -- Santa Clara County officials are reviewing why a medically fragile 2-year-old girl was sent home to live with her father in a transitional home for recovering drug addicts, about two months before she was found dead.

It still isn't clear what caused the Feb. 28 death of Kelly Nguyen -- who required specialized care for a chromosomal birth defect known as DiGeorge syndrome. But the unusual placement -- and the rare death of a Santa Clara County foster child -- is raising troubling questions.

Kelly's death is not being investigated as a homicide. Her father is described by the girl's previous foster parents as loving and well-intentioned, but they had been told he was recently released from jail and struggling with drug problems when social workers placed Kelly in his care. Her mother had already been ruled out as a caregiver.

The couple had two older, healthy boys also in foster care, but authorities chose to give the father a second chance at parenting with Kelly, who could not speak and suffered from a genetic syndrome causing lifelong disability and developmental delays.

"It raises red flags," said Lisa Traxler, president of the Kinship, Adoptive and Foster Parent Association of Santa Clara County, a foster parents assistance program. "It's a home with men coming out of jail or in recovery and they're not better yet -- they're there for a reason, so having a nonverbal, medically fragile child in his care at age 2 -- if something happened, she can't tell anybody."

For now, all eyes are on the Santa Clara County coroner's office, which has completed an autopsy but is conducting further tests in the coming weeks to determine how the girl died.

"We grieve for her passing at much too young of an age," said Stanley Lee, social services program manager for the Department of Family and Children's Services. "But we don't know why she passed away."

Meanwhile, the county is exploring what might have gone wrong in Kelly's case: County Executive Jeff Smith said Tuesday that in light of the girl's death, the Department of Family and Children's Services "is reviewing the decisions related to her placement." Foster care placements must be approved by a judicial officer in the juvenile dependency court, after attorneys representing each parent, the child and the social worker have argued their positions. Traxler and other foster parents familiar with the case said they support reunification with birth families whenever possible. But this case was different.

"Had she been my foster child, I would have asked for a meeting," said Traxler, who has cared for 68 foster children over 21 years. "I would have spoken with the child's attorney, I would have stepped in to be a voice for this little child because she doesn't have a voice -- I would have said: 'What's the hurry? Let's let dad get a little further in his recovery.' "

Most parents working through dependency courts to regain custody of children they've been accused of abusing or neglecting suffer from addiction, homelessness or mental illness. Often, they are placed in transitional housing units while they work their way through court-ordered recovery and parenting programs.

At times, children are placed with mothers in transitional housing. But it is more unusual for fathers to reunite in those settings, Lee and other system insiders confirmed.

"The department does the best they can and they don't intentionally set out for anyone to be harmed, but I think sometimes mistakes are made as in any life situation," Traxler said. "From what it looks like from where I'm sitting, maybe it was a mistake."

Kelly's father -- who is not being named because he is not suspected of wrongdoing in her death and could not be reached Tuesday -- was referred to a six-bed, two-story home in South San Jose that serves fathers going through the local Dependency Wellness Court. The specialty foster care court serves parents in recovery who are actively engaged in regaining custody of their children.

"It doesn't matter whether it's a mother or a father, as long as a parent can safely protect and care for a child," Lee said. And if that parent is deemed worthy while "transitioning to more long-term housing," he added, "the law would require us to consider that as a possibility."

But the placement continues to trouble those mourning Kelly's death, including foster parents who attended services March 10 at the Oak Hill Memorial Park for the affectionate little girl with short-cut bangs and boundless enthusiasm. Her tiny body lay in a small casket in a lacy white dress.

"She was literally a ray of sunshine; she was infectious," said one of her several former foster mothers, Shellie Nichol. "Everywhere she went, she would walk around and hug everyone. Within hours, you'd fall in love with her because she was just the sweetest thing on the planet."

Kelly arrived at Nichol's San Jose foster home last June, completely nonverbal and with a clear need for ongoing medical attention and physical therapy, Nichol said. During the six months she cared for Kelly, who she affectionately called "Kiki," Nichol said she kept a video monitor trained on her all night. That's because the small girl would often choke on her mucus, and frequently vomited after crying and overeating, she said.

Nichol was told when she first received Kelly that her mother was mentally impaired and her father was in jail. But by July, he was out and visiting his daughter diligently, she said. Nichol and others familiar with the case said they believed the parents loved the girl but were unable to care for her.

Yet, based on a social worker's recommendation, Kelly was moved from Nichol's home to another in a succession of foster homes, and then reunified with her father.

Within two months, San Jose police received a 1:15 a.m. call from her father's temporary home stating that the toddler was unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Although homicide detectives were initially called to the home -- following protocol for an unexpected child death -- there has been no arrest in the case. "We are not investigating it as a homicide at this point," San Jose police spokesman Officer Albert Morales said.

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Dave Cortese, who leads a committee overseeing foster care, said Tuesday he was not familiar with the details of Kelly's death. But he noted the loss.

"The worst possible tragedy is the loss of a child -- in any circumstances -- and a foster child is our child," Cortese said. "Fundamentally it's our responsibility to ensure the safety of every child that's in our system. This is a member of our extended family and we need to feel the emotional pain and look at what we could have done differently."

ATHENS–An anonymous report of children being left alone turned out to be a legitimate concern, as Henderson County Sheriff’s OFfice confirmed last Wednesday.

According to Henderson County Sheriff Ray Nutt a deputy answering a welfare concern in Chandler found a 2- and 3-year old unattended in a travel trailer without electricity for more than two hours.

When Sergeant Daniel Wright arrived at 10374 Paradise Circle, in Chandler, March 9, he found a 2-year-old little girl and 3-year-old little boy alone in the trailer.
An unknown caller reported that small children were in a travel trailer with no electricity.

The officer also noted there was no running water, very little food, and an open flame in the trailer.

A Child Protective Services investigator arrived and the children were placed in CPS custody.

During Wright’s two hour stay, no guardian arrived to take custody of the children. Upon further investigation it was determined that Paul Yvon is the legal guardian of the children.
Wright prepared an arrest warrant affidavit for Abandoning/Endangering a Child on Paul Yvon, 28, father of the children.

Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Judge Randy Daniel determined there was probable cause and issued two arrest warrants.

Yvon was arrested two days later on March 11 and remains in custody with bonds totaling $20,000.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Absolutely no explanation here as to how this abusive father managed to get access. Did he assault the mother? Threaten her? Abduct the child? Why was he not supposed to be with his son before? Previous history of child abuse, domestic violence? If so, why was the mother left to enforce this on her own? Why wasn't he locked up? Lots of unanswered questions here. Dad is identified as BILLY ALLEN WHITE.

Billy Allen White, 28, of Princeton waits for his sentencing hearing to begin before judge William Sadler in Princeton Monday afternoon.

PRINCETON — A father convicted of shaking his infant son and leaving him both blind and brain damaged received the maximum penalty allowable by law Monday in Mercer County Circuit Court.

Circuit Court Judge William Sadler proceeded to sentence Billy Allen White, 28, of Princeton after denying a motion for a new trial.

White was convicted in January on one charge of child abuse leading to serious injury. A jury found him not guilty on a second charge of child abuse. His son, Corey White, then 5 months old, was left with brain damage and retina scarring after being severely shaken.
White testified at his trial that he panicked when his son stopped breathing in May 2014 and did not realize how hard he had shaken him. However, Dr. Joan Phillips, a physician specializing in child abuse and neglect cases, testified at White’s trial that the infant’s injuries were consistent with child abuse. She compared the sheer force needed to inflict his injuries with the force hitting the victim of a rollover car crash.

Sadler said White was not supposed to be with his son as part of a child custody agreement, and that the court found his excuse “ludicrous.”

“This is a child who has been sentenced to a life of suffering and debilitating injury,” Sadler said. “I can’t sentence him to a life of suffering like he sentenced this child.”

White was sentenced to a term of two to 10 years in prison, and Sadler stated he would recommend to the parole board that White serve as much time as possible. Sadler said under the law, he had to grant White 419 days credit for the time served in jail since his arrest.

Sadler also imposed a $1,000 fine, and granted a judgment against White for the medical expenses the state has incurred while treating Corey White. Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney George Sitler said he did not know the amount of money spent on treatment, but added the sum could be more than $1 million. White also must be registered as a child abuser for the remainder of his life.

“I’ll never understand how you could hurt this baby,” Cecil told White, going on to say how Corey still could not see, and could not walk, speak, or do anything of the things a 2-year-old child normally does.

“It’s never going to be enough, of course,” Cecil said after sentencing. “I wish he didn’t get time served.” Cecil added he understood Sadler was required by law to give White this credit, and that he planned to attend White’s parole hearings.

White was sent back to the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver pending his transfer to the state Department of Corrections.

Key words here: "returned this 3-year-old son to his mother." In other words, this is a custody/visitation situation. So why was a father allowed to have contact with the same child he once slammed into a wall as an infant? Was it the mother's idea? Doesn't seem likely, as she has not been arrested for failure to protect or allowing this father to have access in violation of a court order. So it seems very likely that this is COURT-ORDERED custody/visitation, though of course this article refuses to clarify the matter. Who put this child back in danger? We need to see the names and they need to be held accountable. Dad is identified as CARY ALBRIGHT.

Monday, March 14, 2016

(Intentionally?) misleading headline. The "parents" were not involved with this. The neglectful custodial dad and his heroin-addicted girlfriend were. WHO GAVE THEM CUSTODY? Not a word, as usual. Dad is identified as DAVID MAHAN.

David Mahan, of Putnam, is sentenced to 2 years in prison and 5 years probation Friday morning at Danielson Superior Court in connection with the 2014 choking death of his 2-year-old son. Aaron Flaum/ NorwichBulletin.com

By John Penney

Posted Mar. 11, 2016 at 11:54 AM

DANIELSON – The parents of a toddler who choked to death after being left unsupervised inside a Putnam bedroom in 2014 left Danielson Superior Court on Friday, the father to begin a prison sentence and the mother to continue piecing her life back together.

A few minutes before Judge Hope Seeley sentenced 32-year-old David Mahan to two years in prison for his role in the death of his 2-year-old son, the victim’s mother, Katelyn Kaeppel, stood nervously in the foyer of the court building.

“I’m not staying for the sentencing,” she said. “I don’t feel it’s necessary. I just wanted to make sure my son was getting justice. I lost a child, but so did David. So did both our families. I’m still angry, but I want nothing but the best for him.”

Mahan pleaded guilty in January to second-degree manslaughter and risk of injury to a child. Under a plea agreement, Mahan was sentenced to seven years in prison, suspended after two years, and five years of probation.

According to court documents, on March 26, 2014, Peterson left the boy and his 1-year-old sibling alone in a locked bedroom for hours with bowls of dry cereal for food while she dropped one of her two children off at school and later drove to a Willimantic methadone clinic for treatment.

Mahan, an electrician with the Mercier Electrical Co. in Auburn, Mass., was reportedly at work when Peterson came home and found the boy not breathing and unresponsive in the bedroom.

After Peterson called 911 and began CPR, emergency personnel arrived and took the child to DayKimballHospital in Putnam, where he was pronounced dead. An emergency room doctor observed what appeared to be food in the victim’s airway, police said. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the child’s cause of death was by choking on a bolus, or a mass of chewed food. The death was ruled a homicide.

Peterson told police she had routinely left Mahan’s children alone for several hours a day since mid March 2014, when Mahan returned to work after a layoff of five months, according to an arrest warrant. In a statement to police, Peterson said Mahan was aware she was leaving his children alone and told her to “just lock the children in the bedroom while she went to the clinic,” until other day care arrangements could be made, according to the warrant.

“He callously disregarded the risk to his children,” AssistantState’s Attorney Sarah Fallon said. “And that led to (the child’s) death.”

TRUMBULL, CT- Police searched nearly all day Saturday for a 7-year-old child who was the subject of an Amber Alert after his father, who has a violent criminal history, forcibly took him from his home, according to police. The alert was cancelled around 6:40 p.m. after the child was found safe, however police continue to search for the boy's father.

At a press conference on Saturday, Trumbull Police Chief Michael Lombardo said the department would be devoting all of its resources to safely return Ariel Revello, 7, after his father Rodolfo Revello, 43, violently took the child from his Unity Road home.

According to police, the boy was located in Queens, N.Y. shortly after 5 p.m. when his father called Trumbull Police and said he was leaving the child with a relative. Officers in New York responded to the address and located the boy safe and unharmed.

The investigation remains active and police are seeking to obtain a warrant for the arrest of the father, Rodolfo Revello on multiple charges.

Police extended the search into New York because Rodolfo has a listed residence in Greenwich. New York State Police, Connecticut State Police and the New York Police Department are assisting in the investigation.

Lombardo said there was a possibility the child and his father are in New York but said authorities were not certain about what city or burrough the two could be in.

Police responded to the home on Unity Road around 4:30 a.m. for the report of a domestic incident.

The child’s mother and estranged wife of Revello sustained cuts, bruises and abrasions during the violent incident. Revello obtained a knife from the kitchen, but he was disarmed by his 17-year-old stepson.

The victim jumped out of a bedroom window and hid in the yard. She was taken to a local hospital and has since been released, Lombardo said. No other injuries were reported.

Revello took several thousand dollars worth of cash and jewelry before he left the residence in a 2015 white Ford van with Connecticut registration CO40379.

The victim had a restraining order against Revello that is active until September, said Lt. Leonard Scinto, police spokesman. He has visitation rights with his son. Police have been called to the residence in the past for incidents.
Rodolfo’s criminal history includes convictions for assault, disorderly conduct, violation of conditions of release and two DUIs. He was also convicted in federal court of distributing cocaine.

According to court documents and statements made in federal court, Revello supplied cocaine to members of the Stamford Chapter of the Latin Kings, who then sold the drugs to their own customers.

He was arrested in 2011.
He was sentenced to five years of prison in 2012 followed by four years of supervised release.

Federal records show he was released on September 16, 2014.

Police ask anyone with any information to either contact Trumbull Police at 203-261-3665 or 911.

Dad is identified only as WON-YOUNG. This article actually acknowledges that this boy had a mother who was denied contact. But it is light on the details as to who in authority allowed this father to have custody, and refuses to link the problem of abusive fathers getting custody with crimes like this one. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160313000184Father, stepmother tried to cover up brutal abuse of 7-year-old

Published : 2016-03-13 15:34
Updated : 2016-03-13 17:33

The body of a 7-year-old boy, which police were searching for since last week, was discovered buried at a mountain in Cheongbuk, Gyeonggi Province, on Saturday.

He was allegedly killed from months of abuse and confinement by his father and stepmother.

The father and stepmother of Shin Won-young reportedly confessed to police on Friday that they had hid the body of the boy for 10 days before burying him in the mountain on Feb. 12.

The 38-year-old stepmother identified as Kim reportedly confessed to locking Won-young up in a bathroom since November last year, feeding him only once a day and repeatedly abusing him such as by pouring icy water or chlorine bleach on him.

The preliminary autopsy by the National Forensic Service on Saturday showed the boy had suffered from starvation, multiple hypodermal bleeding and hypothermia, among other things.

Won-young’s death is the fourth high-profile case of brutal child abuse discovered this year. Search for the boy was initiated as part of the intensified nationwide survey on children who have not been admitted to school in time or have been absent for a long time.

Won-young’s biological father, identified only by his surname, admitted to finding Won-young dead on Feb. 2, a day after he allegedly suffered another round of beating by his stepmother.

The couple testified that they had wrapped the body of the boy and kept him hidden at their veranda at home before moving and burying the body some 5-meters away from the gravesite of the man’s father.

The couple had given mixed testimonies of their whereabouts. Credit card records had placed them near the mountain, before they confessed.

The police excavated the body of the boy early Saturday morning.

The police are planning to charge both with murder. They said Shin had admitted to having known about the abuse by his new wife but that he had been afraid of facing punishment.

The couple had also allegedly attempted to cover up their crime by sending each other text messages after Won-young’s death.

One of the messages sent by Shin to Kim read, “Won-young is doing ok right?,” to which Kim responded, “He ate well and even brushed his teeth.” The messages were exchanged on Feb. 3, the day after Won-young’s body was found in the bathroom.

Since being arrested earlier last week, they have also given mixed testimonies including how they left Won-young on a street, resulting in hundreds of members of the police force and various equipment, such as drones, being mobilized in search of the missing child.

The funeral of Won-young was carried out on Sunday and it was reportedly attended by his birthmother, who had divorced Shin some three years ago with limited visitation rights to her son. The mother had reportedly lost contact with Won-young and his sister, who has also been living with the father and the stepmother since August, 2014.

Controversy persists over the legal and systematic loopholes in protecting children from abuse, especially from their parents, as such acts by them are considered easier to hide.

Reports said that while there was evidence since 2013, such as pictures of Won-young’s beaten-up legs taken by a child protection agency, neither his father nor his stepmother had been questioned by the police. At the time, there were no regulations that required police to accompany counselors in suspected cases of child abuse.

The officials attempted to move Won-young to a child protection facility in 2014 but this was refused by his father. There were no legal grounds to force the separation.

Special laws were enacted in 2014, bestowing greater authority to the police and counselors at child protection organizations to investigate child abuses cases. Additional revisions to relevant laws have been made this year to better protect children but experts have pointed to a need for more fundamental changes, such as in the areas of social perception toward abuse by parents and chronic insufficiencies in budget and the workforce at child protection agencies. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

Douglasville police are investigating the death of a Louisiana toddler who was visiting his father in Georgia, authorities said Thursday.

Two-year-old King Davis was visiting his father Courtney Chauvez Craig, 23, when he was found dead Tuesday inside Craig’s Millwood Park in Douglasville. Responding Douglasville officers determined the child’s death to be suspicious.

Craig was arrested and charged with cruelty to children and felony murder in connection with the case.

King’s mother and other family members told Channel 2 Action that they just want answers.

“We’re not holding any grudges. We want closure. We want to know what happened to King,” grandmother Spanky Davis told the station.

Two other people were in the apartment when police arrived and found the boy, according to the police report obtained by Channel 2. "There were multiple people there. Somebody knows what happened. He was a 2-year-old baby. Somebody knows what happened and they're hiding it," said Giana Davis, an aunt.

Jafari Molyneaux, a friend of Craig's, said he just saw both father and son this past weekend, according to Channel 2. "He was a great father," Molyneaux told the station. "I know for a fact that Courtney did not do harm to this child, I know he didn't."

Craig is currently being held without bond in the Douglas County Adult Detention Center, Lt. Glenn Daniel, Douglas County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Authorities said an autopsy is being performed to determine the toddler’s cause of death.

For Domestic Violence Survivors, Family Court Becomes Site of Continued Abuse

Sunday, 06 March 2016 00:00

By Victoria Law, Truthout | Report

When Kate finally escaped her abusive husband, she thought that the violence and terror were over. What she learned instead is that, when children are involved, escape and safety become even more difficult as abusive ex-partners use child custody and the family court system to continue their harassment and abuse.

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - A judge dismissed federal, but not state, claims against officials in a Northern California county arising from a "scorched-earth" child custody battle and allegations of government corruption.

U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg on Thursday granted Del Norte County officials' motion for summary judgment on a woman's federal claims of deprivation of familial association, but allowed state claims to proceed.

The lawsuit stems from the allegedly unwarranted seizure of minor twin daughters, Jane Does 1 and 2, and their temporary placement by Child Welfare Services into foster care after their mother took them into a neighboring county "without legal authority to do so," breaking a court order to return them to her ex-husband and failing to appear at a Feb. 3, 2012 custody hearing.

Seeborg described the fight between Jennifer Brown and ex-husband Daniel Crocket as a "scorched-earth" battle for custody of their daughters that dates back to January 2012, when Brown and her father took her children to neighboring Humboldt County for medical exams.

Believing that Crocket had molested the girls, Brown and her father Barry Brown, a former county investigator, took them to a Humboldt County hospital for Sexual Assault Response Team exams.

Brown said she took them to Humboldt County because Child Welfare Services in Del Norte County did not respond adequately to the sexual abuse allegations. Del Norte County is the farthest northwest county in California, on the Oregon border. Its county seat and only incorporated city is Crescent City.

Brown says her father informed Del Norte County officials by letter and telephone that he was taking the children from the county for their own safety, in accordance with California Penal Code § 278.7(a), which states that "criminal penalties for child abduction do not apply to those who have legal custody of the child, [and] have 'a good faith and reasonable belief that the child, if left with the other person, will suffer immediate bodily injury or emotional harm.'"

Crocket was cleared of the sexual molestation allegations and the court granted him primary custody of the girls.
Brown and her daughters sued Crocket, Alexander, Del Norte County and others for several claims under state and federal law, including deprivation of familial association under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Brown claims that Alexander, whom she had informed of the girls' whereabouts by telephone, omitted material information from affidavits in support of the arrest warrants for child abduction, and that he did so because Crocket contributed to his campaign fund.

The defendants sought judgment on the pleadings on Jan. 13, 2016.

Although Brown claims she spoke with Alexander and told him where the girls were and why they were there, Seeborg said she nonetheless was obligated to follow court orders.

"Jennifer's contact with Alexander did not relieve her of the obligation to comply with the custody and visitation order or her duty to appear at the Feb. 3 custody hearing," Seeborg wrote in the march 3 order. "Accordingly, even if Alexander submitted false information in support of the application for the protective custody warrant, those statements were unnecessary to the finding of probable cause.

Specifically, even it Jennifer has complied with California Penal Code § 278.7(a), such compliance relieved her of the prospect of criminal punishment for child abduction, not her obligation to comply with the custody and visitation order. Plaintiffs have therefore failed to show that a reasonable jury could conclude the county defendants impermissibly interfered with plaintiffs' right to familial affiliation; defendants are entitled to summary judgment." (Citations omitted.)

Seeborg ruled that Brown's remaining state claims may proceed, and retained jurisdiction over the case on the basis of "judicial economy and convenience."

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Once again, a murder case that totally erases the existence of the mother. What happened to Mom? (The headline and the story clearly state "girlfriend," not mother.)How did dad MATTHEW MIKU obviously get custody? Notice that the paternal grandmother subtly alludes to some long-time "problems" with the father. Meaning he's violent? So, yea, why does he have custody then? Who gave it to him? See the Killer Dads and Custody List for Ohio.

CANTON, OH (WOIO) -
The death of a 3-year-old girl is under investigation and charges have been filed.
Canton Police say around 11:15 a.m. Friday, dispatch received a call regarding an unconscious child at 1007 Dewalt Avenue. Police say Mathew Miku called 911 and said he found his daughter, Hailey, dead in her bed. He sounded distraught during the call and said Hailey had fallen on the steps a week ago.

Further investigation led detectives to treat this as a homicide.

Later Friday, 22-year-old Mathew Miku was charged with murder (F-1) and child endangering (F-2). His bond was set at $1 million. His live-in girlfriend, 21-year-old Jessica Bender, was charged with child endangering (F-3). Her bond was set at $250,000.

Police say both suspects are residents at the home.

Hailey's grandparents are devastated. They want answers, and most of all, they want justice for Hailey.

"She always had a smile on her face. She was beautiful. She was an angel. There's no reason she had to die like this," said grandmother Karen Miku.

The last time Karen saw Hailey was in November.

"I still have gifts from Christmas I should've given her at Thanksgiving. But I thought she would be home for Christmas," said Karen.

Karen says she hasn't seen Mathew in two years.

"We haven't spoken to Mathew in a very long time. We always had problems with Mat. We never stopped loving him," she said.

Karen has so many questions and says no matter what it is, she wants the truth to come out.

"Losing a child, no one should have to go through that. A child you cherish. A gift from heaven. You don't abuse a child, no matter what," she said. "If someone did kill her, they need to pay to the fullest of the law. There is no excuse. Nobody should be able to get away with killing a child."

The grandparents have set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral arrangements.

Friday, March 4, 2016

Dad is identified as DAVID MAHAN. We have posted on this case before. Still a media blackout on how this neglectful father and his heroin-addicted girlfriend (the "clinic" in question involved methadone) got custody, or what happened to this poor little boy's mother. Who allowed this situation to happen?

David Mahan, of Putnam, whose 2-year-old son choked to death on food after being locked in a room and left alone in his house, will be sentenced Monday to two years in prison.

By John Penney
Posted Mar. 3, 2016 at 1:52 PM

DANIELSON — A Putnam man is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday to two years in prison for his role in the 2014 choking death of his 2-year-old son.

David Mahan, 31, pleaded guilty in January to second-degree manslaughter and risk of injury to a child, according to prosecutors in the Danielson Superior Court’s state’s attorney’s office. Under a plea agreement, Mahan will be sentenced to seven years in prison, suspended after two years, and five years of probation.

Mahan and his former girlfriend, Renee Peterson, 33, were arrested nearly two years ago in connection with the death of Mahan’s son inside the couple’s apartment at 129 Mechanics St.

According to court documents, on March 26, 2014, Peterson left the boy and his 1-year-old sibling alone in a locked bedroom for hours on the day of the incident with bowls of dry cereal while she dropped one of her two children off at school and later drove to a Willimantic methadone clinic for treatment.

Mahan, an electrician with the Mercier Electrical Co. in Auburn, Mass., was reportedly at work when Peterson came home and found the boy not breathing and unresponsive in the bedroom.

After Peterson called 911 and began CPR, emergency personnel arrived and took the child to Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam, where he was pronounced dead. An emergency room doctor observed what appeared to be food in the victim’s airway, police said. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the child’s cause of death was by choking on a bolus, or mass of chewed food. The death was ruled a homicide.

Peterson told police she had routinely left Mahan’s children alone for several hours a day since mid March of 2014, when Mahan returned to work after a layoff of five months, according to an arrest warrant. In a statement to police, Peterson said Mahan was aware she was leaving his children alone and told her to “just lock the children in the bedroom while she went to the clinic,” until other day care arrangements could be made, according to the warrant.

Shortly after the boy’s death, Mahan was arrested by Massachusetts state police on fugitive from justice charges.

In August, Peterson was sentenced to serve five years of a seven-year sentence, along with five years of probation. She pleaded guilty on June 5 to second-degree manslaughter and risk of injury charges in the child’s death.

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. - Investigators have released new information about the "suspicious" death of a toddler in Douglas County.

It happened at the Millwood Park Apartments located in the 8200 block of Duralee Lane in Douglasville on Tuesday.

Police said 2-year-old King Davis spent the weekend with his father, Courtney Craig, 23, and died while in his dad's custody. Detectives won't say how the child died, but said Craig is responsible. He's been charged with felony murder and cruelty to children.

King's mother's family told FOX 5 they are heartbroken and angry over the little boy's death.

One neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said she is surprised because she never saw a child coming in or out of the apartment. Another neighbor, Shirley Fulton, who lives downstairs, said she was at the apartment complex located on Durable Lane when police arrived.

"I seen a couple of police cars out there.I seen the mother breaking down I said it must be her child, but I did not know what was going on," said Fulton. "It is really sad."

Craig was booked into the Douglas County Adult Detention Center without bond. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office and Douglasville Police are investigating the death.

Gosh, don't you just love the passive tense? Mom "was forced to flee his home due to domestic violence." Let's rewrite this with active tense verbs, shall we? How about this: her sh**head husband beat her so badly she was forced to flee the home to save her life. And then a corrupt legal system refused to arrest the man who assaulted her, so he retained control and custody over the children. So what happens when you grant a violent father who beat their mother custody of her children? TA DA! He beats the children too! So now this boy is apparently permanently disabled and in a wheelchair. Who would have thunk it? Now the sh**head is getting treatment for his high blood pressure (poor dear!) while the mother got nothing. Sickening. Dad is identified as ALEX OKAFOR.

The man who brutalised his son in Abuja said he did that because of his deep love for the boy.

Published: 10.54
Isaac Dachen

The man who brutalised his 8-year-old son, Chukwuma Okafor, using a pestle to break his leg and hand in the process in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, has been arrested after a lot of outrage and media coverage of the dastardly act.

The man who has been identified as Alex Okafor, a 45-year-old resident of Gbazango village in Kubwa, a satellite town in the FCT, however, told the police that it was his love for his son that made him beat him up that much that he was left in a wheelchair in the Kubwa General Hospital.

Okafor added that he chose to discipline his son that way out of his deep love for him because he stole meat out of four packs of food and also refused to do his home work.

A police source narrated that Okafor alleged that he had bought food for his four children but Chukwuma decided to steal all the meat in the food packs meant for his siblings.

“The suspect added that when he asked the boy, he denied and he (father) had to go back to the restaurant to accuse them of giving him food without meat,” the source said.

It was also gathered that Okafor is a single father as his wife, the mother of the children, was forced to flee his home due to domestic violence.

The Kubwa Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Chief Superintendent Nuruddeen Sabo, confirmed the arrest of the suspect, saying he is presently under police custody at the Kubwa General Hospital where he is receiving treatment having complained of high blood pressure.

We have an axiom here at Dastardly Dads that goes something like this: If the media ever manages to report the circumstances behind a custody case, the details will be "forgotten" by the time it goes to trial. What this article fails to mention is that dad JOHN ROSS NORFLEET was awarded full custody three years before he killed his daughter, and was allowed to do a moveway from the state of Michigan, effectively cutting the mother out of her daughter's life. But don't hold your breath waiting for the judge and assorted court lackies to be held responsible. See previous posts here. Also see the Killer Dads and Custody List for Florida.

We've posted on this case before. As usual, the media refuses to clearly identify the accused killer as a custodial father, much less explain how he got custody or who gave it to him. But the hints are adding up. It definitely seems more likely than not that FURNELL DANIEL was custodial. Why? Other than reporting the mother's grief, there is no mention that she saw signs of abuse and reported them or saw signs of abuse and failed to report them. Which suggests she was shut out of the picture--a very likely scenario with a father who is this violent. Abusive men are almost always controlling and possessive, and very often intent on stripping the mother of the thing that means the most to her--her own children. That they then turn around and then kill the kids is perfectly consistent with their abuse/control way of thinking. Once again, the media is ignoring HOW and WHY this poor boy ended up in the home of this vicious sociopath.

By Emily Lane, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on March 02, 2016 at 12:04 PM, updated March 03, 2016 at 9:07 AM

A Jefferson Parish man accused of beating his teenage son to death used a broken-off "2-by-4" railing from a crib in the attack, the same stick he kept in the family's living room to discipline his children, an investigator said court Wednesday (March 2).

The testimony came at a hearing for defendants in the Feb. 5 beating of 14-year-old Jalen Daniel. A judge found probable cause to charge Terri Daniel, the boy's stepmother, with second-degree murder.
The boy's father Furnell Daniel, who faces the same charge, waived his right to a preliminary exam in Jefferson Parish Commissioner Court.

The boy was taken to the hospital Feb. 6, a day after he was beaten, and died Feb. 11.

Faucetta said one of Daniel's other children told investigators their father used the stick to paddle them, and kept the piece of wood in the corner of the living room, propped against the wall. Faucetta said after the fatal beating, deputies found the stick "exactly in that place."
Furnell Daniel, 43, and his wife, Terri Daniel, 30, were rebooked with second-degree murder after Jalen Daniel died.

David Courcelle, Terri Daniel's attorney, said Furnell Daniel described the beating in a phone conversation with his wife the day before Jalen was brought to the hospital as an attempt at disciplining the child that "got out of hand."

Furnell Daniel initially told deputies at the hospital he paddled Jalen Feb. 5 and the child later became unresponsive after falling in the bathtub, Faucetta said. Emergency room doctors told detectives that the fatal injuries were consistent with abuse, Faucetta said, noting a wood splinter was removed from Jalen's head.

Courcelle argued that since Terri Daniel was not present at the time of the beating and could not have known the full extent of the injuries -- since he died from internal injuries -- she should not be criminally culpable for his death.

Courcelle questioned Faucetta about statements Terri Daniel gave about urging her husband to seek medical treatment for the boy prior to the afternoon of Feb. 6. Furnell Daniel did not heed her pleas. She also told deputies she asked Jalen if he needed to go to the hospital, Faucetta confirmed.

"The 14-year-old child said no, and she went to bed," Faucetta said, recalling Terri Daniel's statement.

Faucetta said Terri Daniel was present overnight after the beating when Jalen Daniel exhibited symptoms of neurological damage, such as urinating on himself, vomiting and crying out in pain. The boy was not brought to the hospital until the next day, after he'd become unresponsive, Faucetta testified.
"He is loved and will be missed by everyone that knew him," Jalen Daniel's mother said.

Courcelle also argued Terri Daniel might not have known Jalen was paddled with a stick, noting her husband, who was the disciplinarian in the family, previously used a belt to discipline the children.

Faucetta acknowledged Terri Daniel had no intent to hurt or kill the child. When Courcelle noted Terri Daniel displayed concern for the child by asking her husband to seek medical attention for Jalen Daniel, Faucetta responded, "I totally agree."

Jefferson Parish Commissioner Patricia Joyce, though, noted that second-degree murder does not require criminal intent. The part of the statute she said applies to the allegations against Terri Daniel speak to mistreatment or neglect of a juvenile resulting in death.

"This is a difficult case," Joyce said.

Terri Daniel remains jailed on a $100,000 bond. Furnell Daniel remains jaled on a $250,000 bond. A woman who identified herself as Terri Daniel's mother was in the court, along with other relatives, but declined to be interviewed.

Courcelle said the couple had a total of five children between them. In addition to the deceased 14-year-old, the others children were ages 15, 10, 4 and 2.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

As typically happens, news articles don't commonly come out and say that a child abuse situation involved custody/visitation. But this one clearly does. The parents do not live together. Daddy beat this child within one inch on his life, then dumped him at Mom's house. He later died in the hospital. As often happens, there is no explanation here as to whether dad DANIEL COX had court-awarded custody/visitation rights, or whether Mom was just trying to accomodate him by providing him with visitation "willingly"--perhaps to avoid a custody fight with a violent man, who are often remarkably adept at getting custody. See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Kentucky.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3473309/Kentucky-man-ruled-competent-stand-trial-sons-death.htmlFather, 35, who 'beat his infant son to death in his car seat while he was driving' will face trial after being found mentally competent
Daniel Cox, 35, of Kentucky, was arrested last August after witnesses say they saw him beating his four-month old sitting in car seat
Jayceon Chrystie arrived at his mother's home covered in black and blue marks, with no pulse and with eye swollen shot
Infant died two days later at a hospital from traumatic injury to the head
Cox was determined mentally able to stand trial after a psychiatric evaluation

A Kentucky man charged in his four-month-old son's beating death has been found competent to stand trial in the child's slaying.

Daniel Cox, 35, was determined mentally able to stand trial following a psychiatric evaluation by experts at the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center.

Cox is charged with murder-domestic violence in the death of Jayceon Chrystie last summer.

Court records state that witnesses called 911 on August 6 after seeing a man driving down a highway beating an infant in a car seat.

Cox left the unresponsive Jayceon with the baby's mother, Kimberly Ann Chrystie, who called police. Authorities say the child was black and blue, had no pulse and his eye was swollen shut.

Jayceon died two days later at a hospital. Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Bob Fraction said the cause of death was 'inflicted traumatic injury to the head.'

Witness Dena Stevenson told WLKY-TV back in August that she and her husband grew concerned and called 911 after they saw a man, later identified as Daniel Cox, hitting a child in a car seat several times in the head and chest while he was driving his gold Mercury Grand Marquis in Radcliff.

About 15 minutes after officers began searching for the car, police received a call from Kimberly Ann Chrystie's home.

In a court filing, Chrystie said Cox, who did not live with her and their son, returned the child 'all beat up' after having him for only a couple of hours.

Emergency medics tried to resuscitate the baby, who was taken to Hardin Memorial Hospital.

Police wrote that Jayceon's left eye was swollen shut, his right cheek was swollen and he had 'major bruising on his back and buttocks.'

Daniel Cox has been held in the Grayson County Detention Center on $500,000 cash bond since his arrest six months ago.

The News-Enterprise reported he is due back in court for a pretrial conference on April 26. The date of his trial has not been set yet.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Statistically, teen males are the most dangerous persons to have around infants--especially when they have broken up with the mother and are not bonded to her. They really should not have unsupervised custody/visitation rights for this reason. UNNAMED DAD.

EDINBURG – A 16-year-old charged with capital murder for the death of his infant son faced a judge again on Wednesday.

The teen will remain in juvenile detention until March 15, his next scheduled court appearance date. In the meantime, he’ll undergo a psychiatric evaluation to help decide how the case will proceed.

On Wednesday, new details were revealed about the case. The 16-year-old is only in ninth grade. He apparently had dropped out of school to work full-time to support his child.

The teen father and the 16-year-old mother of the baby broke up soon before the baby's death. The baby was alone with the father at his in-laws’ house, when he was found unresponsive.

The 16-year-old turned himself in, once the preliminary autopsy report revealed blunt force trauma to the baby’s head.

On Monday, the judge kept referring to an apparent confession in the case.

On Wednesday, the defense argued against the alleged confession. They said there are three statements from the teen; none are in his handwriting. Two of those statements were not notarized, and two did not have witnesses. The defense also said one statement was filed by a detaining officer, but the teen was not detained at the time of the statement.

“Confessions require constitutional safeguards,” said Robert Salinas, the teen’s court-appointed attorney. “You should be Mirandized by a judge. You should be reported your constitutional privileges, pursuant to Miranda versus Arizona. There is nothing in those statements that indicate they complied with the requirements of a voluntary accused statement.”

The teen father will turn 17 within the month. Judge Jesse Contreras said that doesn’t really change anything.

The judge expects the district attorney to file a petition to certify the teen as an adult, regardless of when his birthday is.

A former Chicago-area resident has been sentenced to life in prison in the 2015 death of his daughter in Bedford, Iowa.

District Judge John D. Lloyd passed the sentence against Charles Hall, 26, last week.

A jury returned two guilty verdicts in January in the death of 3-year-old Janyiah King at Hall’s home in Bedford, a city of about 1,400 about 100 miles southeast of Omaha.

Also sentenced last week was April Clair, 26, who was Hall’s live-in girlfriend on May 22 when she found Janyiah’s body. She had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of child endangerment resulting in bodily injury. Lloyd suspended her prison sentence and put her on probation for five years.

Clair initially was charged with child endangerment, but before the trial she pleaded guilty to child endangerment resulting in bodily injury, a lesser charge than the charge she initially faced, in return for truthful testimony in Hall’s trial.

On Tuesday, Hall’s lawyer filed notice that the sentence would be appealed, which frequently happens when a defendant receives a life sentence in Iowa.

Janyiah had been staying with Clair and Hall for several weeks. She normally lived in the Chicago area with her mother, Taylor County Attorney Clinton Spurrier has said.

At the trial, Clair testified that on May 22 she left their home at 9 a.m. She returned about 11:30 a.m. to find Hall outside the house, smoking a cigarillo. As he finished smoking, he said he needed to go get a tire fixed and left, Spurrier said.

Clair found Janyiah lying on the bathroom floor, unresponsive. An autopsy found that the child had died of asphyxiation, most likely by drowning, Spurrier said. The bathtub had standing water in it.

Both were charged with child endangerment causing serious injury.

The death was ruled a homicide, and prosecutors charged Hall with first-degree murder. Clair continued to face a charge because she did not seek medical help for the child after the girl suffered the injuries, Spurrier said.

Furnell Daniel, left, and his wife, Terri Daniel, left, were rebooked second-degree murder in the death of Jalen Daniel, 14. Furnell Daniel is accused of fatally beating his son with a piece of wood. Terri Daniel knew of the incident but did not report it to authorities or seek medical help for the boy, Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office investigators said.

Michelle Hunter, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on February 26, 2016 at 2:53 PM, updated February 26, 2016 at 3:02 PM

Furnell Daniel, the Waggaman man accused of fatally beating his 14-year-old son because of low grades, was rearrested on charges of disciplining his 9-year-old son using tent poles. Daniel, 43, was rebooked Wednesday (Feb. 24) with cruelty to a juvenile, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office arrest report said.

Investigators Feb 6 booked Daniel and his wife, Terri Daniel, 30, with second-degree cruelty to a juvenile after his son, Jalen, 14, was hospitalized in grave condition with a severe head injury.

Authorities accused Furnell Daniel of hitting Jalen Daniel several times with a piece of wood in their Waggaman home Feb. 5. Terri Daniel, Jalen's stepmother, is accused of knowing about the incident but failing to alert authorities or seek medical attention for the boy.

"He is loved and will be missed by everyone that knew him," Jalen Daniel's mother said.

Jalen was pronounced brain dead Feb. 8 of an epidural hemorrhage due to a skull fracture from blunt force trauma, the Jefferson Parish coroner's office said. The Sheriff's Office then upgraded the charges against the couple to second-degree murder.

Detectives interviewed Furnell Daniel's 9-year-old son, who told them his father would hit him with a tent pole, said Lionel "Lon" Burns, Daniel's defense attorney. The Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant for the Daniels' home and found 16 tent poles in the garage, leading to the arrest, Burns said.

The most recent charge is no indication that Furnell Daniel intended to kill Jalen Daniel, Burns said. He characterized his client as a man who wanted to discipline his sons and keep them on the straight and narrow.
14-year-old victim beaten with piece of wood for low grades, JPSO said.

"Unfortunately, that discipline went a bit too far," Burns said. "He made a mistake, but he shouldn't be looked upon as a murderer."

Daniel was being held Friday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna in lieu of a $310,500 bond.

Other articles further clarify that the girlfriend is not the mother, but refuse to clarify what happened to the mother or why the father had unspecified custody/visitation rights. Dad is identified as CLINT VANCE HOGAN. See the Killer Dads and Custody list for Montana.

A man pleaded no contest to obstructing justice in the death of his 6-year-old daughter, Kiomora “Kiki” Hogan, during a hearing last week.

Clint Vance Hogan, 27, entered the plea on Friday during a hearing before state District Judge Blair Jones in Hardin. A no contest plea is treated as a guilty plea for sentencing purposes.

A plea agreement calls for Big Horn County Attorney Jay Harris to recommend a five-year deferred sentence. The maximum sentence is 10 years in prison.

Jones set sentencing for April 26.

Hogan initially was charged with negligent homicide and obstructing justice after his daughter died in a Denver hospital of a skull fracture. Medical staff told investigators that the child died from a single forceful blow to the head or from someone smashing her head into a stationary object, like a wall or floor. The girl was found unresponsive in her home on March 3, 2015.

The judge dismissed the homicide charge earlier after Hogan reached an immunity deal with the county attorney. Hogan agreed to testify against his girlfriend, Kerstyn Old Bull, 27, of Hardin, who faced deliberate homicide charges in the girl’s death.

But Old Bull pleaded guilty to criminal endangerment and obstructing justice in another plea agreement in which the prosecutor agreed to drop the deliberate homicide charge. Jones sentenced Old Bull in early February to 20 years in prison.

Court records accused Old Bull of beating the child on the evening of March 2 while Hogan was away from the residence. When Hogan returned he found his daughter unresponsive. The couple then spent nearly two hours cleaning up the crime scene before seeking medical attention for the girl, records said.

Investigators found blood residue throughout the basement of the residence.

The couple told Big Horn County hospital staff that the child had been injured when she fell in the shower, records said.

Once again, you have to read between the lines. The mother has a husband who is not the biological father. Therefore, this violent sperm donor apparently had some relationship with the mother that didn't even last through the pregnancy. Some how, he was granted custody/visitation of a newborn, which is sheer foolishness. It is terrible for infants to be separated from their caregivers at this age. It was particularly foolish to grant this sh**head any access. But fathers rights, ya know. UNNAMED DAD

The three-week-old baby who died in hospital after being allegedly abused by his father, has been laid to rest on Sunday in Randgate, Randfontein, on the West Rand.

Randfontein police spokesperson Captain Appel Ernst confirmed a case of child abuse (assault to cause grievous bodily harm) was reported on February 12. It is alleged the baby, Joshua Botha, was taken to Baragwanath Hospital with bruises. The infant was hospitalised and his condition deteriorated. He was placed on life support and later died.

The baby’s maternal grandmother, Brenda Williams-Ludick, said when they arrived at the hospital the baby was still connected to the ventilator, but he already had passed away, Randfontein Herald reported.

In an emotional letter, the baby’s mother, Christene Botha, 23, said: “If I knew I had such a short time with you, I would have never laid you down, would have kissed you all the time.”

Baby Joshua was laid to rest in the Greenhills Cemetery.

The funeral service, which was held at the Gemeentes van Christus Church in Randgate was led by Pastor Desmond Wessels.

A small group of friends and family came in support of Joshua’s mother, her husband Robert Putter, mother-in-law Williams-Ludick and the accused’s mother, Joshua’s grandmother.

Botha was weeping throughout the service.

After the service, the mother of the accused was seen sobbing at Joshua’s coffin, but was not seen at the Greenhills Cemetery.

Her son, Joshua’s biological father, is being held at the Krugersdorp correctional facility. He is expected to appear in court soon.